Here are some more insights from Naomi Harris from Thomson Reuters.

What are the things that impress you / turn you off when meeting people who want to work for your organisation?

I like to see people who have done their preparation for the interview. I expect people to have a degree of knowledge around who the company is and the industry they would be working in. But I really don’t need a thirty page dossier on the company I work for. I like people to have a sense of who our customers are. They may not know everything a lawyer does or a big four accounting firm does, but they have a sense of who they are and what type of industry we are operating in.

I like people to be on time as this is a basic courtesy. I’ve had applicants who were horrified when we wouldn’t interview them because they were two hours late without ringing and letting me know they had a problem. I also look for what applicants have done outside of their careers. I’m looking for a well rounded individual – not someone whose whole life is work. I don’t have a predefined list of pluses or minuses about this, but it’s the sum of the experiences that you bring.

A turn-off is arrogance and the perspective that I owe them the job. I’m also disappointed if they haven’t done their homework and think they can bluff their way through an interview. I’m also surprised by the number of times applicants will try to play the one-upmanship game through an interview.

You’re not going to impress me by going down this path. I don’t like people who make negative comments, particularly of current orpast employers as it’s not a positive way to sell it. I think you can say that, “I was personally challenged by the decisions made by the organisation” and you can do it in a way that I understand that you didn’t actually agree with those decisions and that’s why you’re looking for a new job. I don’t want you to come in and say, “My last boss was a lunatic and didn’t understand me.”

Another turn-off is people who are on ‘sell’ mode constantly. Sometimes it’s nervousness, so I allow the time for applicants to get through that. Then there are people who will use ‘sell’ as a barrier. They are the more difficult ones to deal with, because they won’t let the barrier down. I’m not really getting to know them, so why would I want to employ them. I would rather someone say, “Look I have no experience in that area, but I think my skills work really well here.”

What do you do when you ask someone a specific question and they don’t answer it?

I keep asking it. I will ask the question and if they have deliberately evaded it, I will say, “You didn’t answer that specific question.” If they don’t get the intent of the question, then I will ask it from a couple of different angles. I may move on from the question but I’ll come back to it later in the interview. I won’t allow evasion. My thinking is if they won’t answer a question – what else aren’t they being open about?

What things impress you about how people dress?

We’re not an overly formal organisation in terms of suit and tie every day. Most people will come to an interview not knowing the dress code of an organisation and will come in wearing a suit or some form of business attire. I think it shows respect to the process they are going through and they are trying to make a positive impression. Whether we like it or not, the first impression is how they present themselves.

Hope Naomi’s words help!

All my best,

James E

James Evangelidis

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Tagged as: Naomi Harris, Thomson Reuters, turn offs, turn ons